Друзья из далека...

Я говорил сегодня с друзьями из Украины. Было так хорошо общаться с ними и слышать их голосы! И было прекрасно прощаться с ними, зная, что мы увидимся через только один месяц.

А вот две фотографии, которие мне послали. Первая - это с дневника Лизы. Смотрите на то, что она написала. Вторая фотография - это моя сестра Оля в Яготыне на первый звонок. Видите...какая она красивая и взрослая. Я ей это сказал по телефону, и она так ответила -- Я знаю, Браян. Но она шутила. Я в ответе сделал ей замечание -- Оля, не так говори. Ты должна быть скромной. :-) Я очень жду этой поездки в Украину!

после почти что 20 лет совместной жизни..мои родители повенчались))) я их подтолкнула..потому что так жить нельзя))))) воот) так что сегодня у нас была так сказать свадьба дома))))

Ольга Александровна Литвиненко

из одинадцетого класса

1 сентабря 2007

The voice hesitant,
and her hand trembling
in the dark for yours.

She touches your face
and says your name
in the same instant.

The one you refuse to say
over and over again.
The one you refuse to say.

--David Whyte,
"The Soul Lives Contented"

The Lives of Others - Das Leben der Anderen

This weekend I met up with a co-worker of mine, Shabnam, and a friend of hers and saw The Lives of Others. I'd been wanting to see this film ever since Benjamin was talking it up one day at work. It's a German film that takes place during the early 80's in East Germany and centers around the Stasi - short for Staatssicherheit, as in the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit or Ministry of State Security - the secret police of the GDR. Stasi agent, Gerd Wiesler, is part of an operation that has playwright, Georg Dreyman, under surveillance. As Wiesler observes the lives of Dreyman and his lover, actress Christa-Maria Sieland, he becomes disenchanted with the Stasi system, its abuse of power, as its members destroy the lives of several Berlin artists. I'm not sure if you noticed this, but was there anyone this weekend not reading You-Know-Which-Book?

Cherry blossoms and the Jefferson Memorial

So tell me...what is this "American Councils?"

Out of sheer laziness, I've cut and pasted the following from American Councils' website - http://www.americancouncils.org/. If you are so inclined, you may also read about them in Russian by visiting the website for their St. Petersburg office - http://www.americancouncils.spb.ru/main.php


Mission & History

American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, an international not-for-profit organization, believes in the fundamental role of education in fostering positive change for individuals, institutions and societies. Building upon over three decades of regional expertise and development experience, American Councils advances education and research worldwide through international programs that provide the global perspective essential for academic and professional excellence. In collaboration with partners around the world, our dedicated team of professionals designs and implements innovative and effective programs responsive to the cultures and needs of the international communities in which we work.

Founded in 1974 as an association for area and language professionals, American Councils has focused its expertise on academic exchange, professional training, distance learning, curriculum and test development, delivery of technical assistance, research, evaluation, and institution building.

Originally incorporated as the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), American Councils has worked to advance research, training, and materials development in the fields of Russian and English, as well as strengthen communication within and among the communities of scholars and educators in language, literature, and area studies of the United States and the former Soviet Union. In 1987, the ACTR Board of Directors created the American Council for Collaboration in Education and Language Study (ACCELS), which quickly became a leader in the design and administration of exchange and training programs funded by the U.S. government.

In its four decades, American Councils has developed into one of the premier American education and international training organizations, administering more than thirty exchange and training programs, including U.S. government programs and non-U.S. national fellowship programs. The organization develops collaborative and partnership programs between individuals and institutions in the United States and the countries of Eurasia and Eastern Europe, consults on project design and education innovation programs, and actively contributes to the development of Eurasian language and area studies in the United States. And the organization maintains its commitment to the teaching of the Russian language, with over 100,000 textbooks and educational materials sold and 6,500 Russian-language learners registered online.

To reflect the organization’s development and expanded activities, in 1998, the ACTR Board created a new organizational structure with a new name, American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS. ACTR and ACCELS are divisions of the American Councils. American Councils employs a full-time professional staff of over 370, located in forty-seven offices in forty cities in 15 countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

Funding comes from public and private sources, including the U.S. Agency for International Development; the U.S. Department of State; the U.S. Department of Education; the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the governments of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan; the World Bank; the Carnegie Corporation; the Open Society Institute/Soros Foundations, and other public and private donors.

A New City: Washington, D.C.

Something very different and not Chicago. Here's the story of how I ended up in our nation's capital...

Sometime near the end of 2006, maybe in November or so, my mom forwarded me an e-mail announcing a job opening at American Councils in DC. At this time, my parents were hosting Sasha, our exchange student from Melitopol, Ukraine, a scholarship student in the U.S. as part of the FLEX program (Future Leaders Exchange). American Councils administers this program and places about 40 of the total 1200 high schoolers who come over every year from former Soviet countries. I had first learned of American Councils (aka ACTR) while I was in Ukraine. I'd applied for a position there when I first came back home (at the beginning of 2006) but to no avail. So, my interest was piqued when I learned of this new opening.

After submitting my resume, I was asked to have an interview over the phone which then led to an invitation to Washington for a meeting in person. I originally planned to fly in and out of DC on the same day, Tuesday, February 13. My interview was scheduled for 2pm and I had made plans to meet my friend John for lunch beforehand. As things often go, I was running late, had to forego lunch with John and head straight to American Councils for my meeting. At this point, it had already started to snow. American Councils operates on the same schedule as the federal government which was shut down at 2pm. This meant, that when I arrived at the office, much of the staff was leaving or had left. Luckily, the people I was supposed to speak with had not.

I ended up being stuck in the DC area for three days and flying home Thursday evening. All this time, my good friend John, his wife, Susan, and their family, were kind enough to put me up for those nights. School was cancelled for two days and the kids were very grateful to me for bringing such splended weather and freeing them of their educational responsibilities. (I should note here that DC, for some reason, has no idea what to do with itself when faced with snow. Although the governement had been shut down Tuesday, within several hours that same day there was not a trace of snow on the ground, though it snowed again that night and stuck for the next several days.)

On Thursday morning, I got a call with a job offer. They wanted me to start work on March 1, a mere two weeks away! I jumped for joy and then packed to fly home to Chicago that night, periodically calling the airline to make sure my flight hadn't again been cancelled. It wasn't and I made it home.

At the end of February, having said many goodbyes, I drove out to DC in my car with whatever stuff would fit, leaving the rest of it in storage in Chicago. Again, my friends John and Susan, being very generous souls, offered to have me stay with them for a few weeks until I could find a place of my own somewhere in DC, Virginia or Maryland. My aunt and uncle on my dad's side live near DC, as does my cousin David. While out at a dive bar one night doing karoake with Dave, I met a number of his friends, including the girl who would soon become my roommate, Gina (not to be confused with my Chicago roomie, also Gina). I moved into her place, where her former roommate was moving out. I took her old room, she took the basement room, and someone new, Michelle, took the old roommates spot.

Come the middle of April, I flew back to Chicago where I met my dad, who had flown up from Orlando. The two of us rented a truck and drove all of my stuff back to DC, where I am today.

So that's how it happened, minus about 250 details. As I've been heard to say, I really think it would be difficult for me to imagine a more perfect position for me right now. One of my former students in Krasnograd asked, "Мистер Петерсон, вам нравится новая работа?" My answer - "Да. Очень."

Umm, Yes...

Fully Employed

As of last week I have a full-time job! It turns out that six months is in fact a normal amount of time to spend floundering and hunting, assuming I'm normal. I remember feeling so relieved to have gotten a long-term assignment from the temp agency, and in the end I wasn't even able to work at the property development consultant's office the full three months.

The saying is true: When it rains it pours. I had an interview with Educational Perspectives just over two weeks ago. At the same time, a woman I know at Association House was really interested in hiring me to teach adult literacy. To make a semi-long story short, I decided to take the position with Educational Perspectives.

What is Educational Perspectives? They are a credential evaluator, which means we analyze foreign credentials and assign them an American equivalency. One of the things that interested me about this work is that it involves learning a great deal about foreign educational systems. My job title is Documentation Specialist, which falls just short of being an actual evaluator, though that does have some bearing on my responsibilities. My position is a newly created one, and it is essentially as a bridge between the administrative and evaluative sides of Educational Perspectives. I think my most important function will be looking at all of the applications and credentials that come through the office and determining whether or not we have all of the information necessary to perform the type of evaluation requested. My understanding is that there is certainly the potential of me someday becoming an evaluator, since the amount of business the organization gets has been growing fairly quickly.

Some of the other factors I considered when making the decision to work here are:

1. EP is a small, not-for-profit organization (six people), nationally accredited by NACES.
2. The atmosphere in the office is very relaxed and, in my case, patient and nurturing.
3. EP and credential evaluation is connected to international education, which is how I heard
about it.
4. I will have the opportunity to use some of my Russian and to learn more about the former Soviet
Union, other countries in that region, and just about any country that has ever had a
functioniung educational system.
5. Ken, the president, feels strongly about providing professional development.
6. There is the opportunity to travel to national conferences on international conferences.
7. I have benefits (full health insurance with dental).
8. Three weeks of paid vacation with assorted personal days, etc.
9. The salary is respectable and certainly on the higher side of what I had been willing to work for.

Lisa Romashka in Crimea

Who is Neznajka?

In keeping with the rules of American foreign policy, I
had meant to preemptively answer the above question. Somehow, though, I never did. So here it is.

Neznajka (Незнайка) is a character from a series of Russian children's books: The Adventures of Neznajka and His Friends; Neznajka in Sunshine City; and Neznajka on the Moon. In Russian, his name basically means "know-nothing" as in "he's a know-nothing." My girlfriend before leaving for Ukraine, Zhenya (Jane), recommended that I try to read Neznajka on the Moon. What I ended up reading were a number of chapters from the first book with my first Russian tutor, Larisa, though I do own both. Neznajka's defining characteristics are his curiousity, ineptitude, and inability to maintain focus and interest in the things he had apparently found so interesting. Also, he tends to irritate the hell out of everyone around him.

I chose Neznajka as the name for my blog for several reasons. Sometimes my friend, Lisa, and her mother, Lana, would call me Neznajka because they knew I was reading it; so it was a term of endearment. I openly admit that I am ignorant on many subjects, still I would sometimes ask why I couldn't be any of the other characters, one of the more respectable ones. In any case, in my life, I hope to try to hold on to some kind of child-like curiousity about the world, to learn more about things that are new to me, and to do my best not to irritate my friends and neighbors. Вот я не незайка, но немножка похож на него. (So, I'm not Neznajka, but do resemble him a bit.)

Young and Old in Lviv

I found this picture while looking for an image of a restaurant in Chicago called Old Lviv. This picture really does exemplify two very seemingly contradictory Ukrainian lifestyles. The truth is, aside from the fact that the girl and old woman aren't talking to each other, there's really no reason why they couldn't be related. This picture is very much like those recently (several months ago) published in National Geographic in that my immediate response is, "Oh my God! That is Ukraine!" Seriously, I think this picture could have been taken on any bus in any Ukrainian city, town or village.

Incidentally, seeing that babushka (grandmother/old woman) reminds of some advice we received during training from our Peace Corps Medical Officer, Linda. If you ever feel a bit unsure of your surroundings while traveling by train, don't hesitate to find the nearest, oldest babushka, sit down next to her and become her best friend. Chances are, not one man on that train would dare cross her path.

Мелiтополь / Melitopol

Ukrainian Student in Orlando! / Украинский ученик в Орландо!

I'm very excitid to announce that my parents will be hosting a Ukrainian student in their home during the 2006-07 school year. His name is Sasha and he's from Melitopol', in the Zaporizhzhya oblast, in southeastern Ukraine, along the Azov Sea.

This all came about from a forward I received from another former volunteer, asking for help in finding host families for FLEX students. FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) is an American Councils exchange program for high school-age students from former Soviet republics. This, of course, includes Ukraine. To make a long story short, my parents applied to become host parents with Dyadya Vanya serving as the coordinator and possibly Andy Minear as the contact at Winter Park High School, my old stomping grounds back in the mid-90's. :-) Just as a reminder, Dyadya Vanya (Mr. Sheehan) was my brother's Russian teacher in high school. He's retired now and has served as my Russian tutor when I've been in Orlando. For more than a year now, he's worked with my mom on learning Russian. Andy Minear was a classmate of mine in high school and is now the director of choirs at Winter Park. He also studied Russian with Mr. Sheehan.

So, next Friday, I think, Sasha will arrive. My mom told me a little about the process of choosing a student. She and my dad were given three names. The first was a girl with pet allergies, so obviously she wouldn't want to live with Max and Merlin. The second was a boy who said he likes playing sports. Then, the third boy writes that he enjoys singing, playing the piano and reading books such as Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. After telling me all of this, my mom asks, "So, Brian, can you guess who we decided on?" The answer, by the way, was obvious.

I hope I'll be able to fly home in the not-too-distant future. Maybe at the end of September when my current assignment through the temp agency will come to an end. My other incentive for flying down there on that weekend is that the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will be giving a concert in Orlando that Saturday night.

Когда я умирал / As I lay dying

Тост / Toast

Высоко в горах умирал аксакал и рассуждал о своей жизни, вдруг в дверь раздается стук: "Ты кто?" - спрашивает аксакал, "Я богатство твоё!". "Не надо мне богатства, всё у меня есть, ступай себе с Богом!". Вдруг раздается опять стук в дверь: "Ты кто?" - спросил аксакал. "Я Любовь твоя!" - ответили за дверью, аксакал отвечает: "Ступай себе с Богом! Я любил и меня любили", опять раздается стук в дверь, "Кто там?" - спрашивает аксакал, "Я Здоровье твоё!" - ответили за дверью, "Не надо мне здоровья, я своё отжил! Ступай себе с Богом!" - сказал аксакал, но тут опять стук в дверь: "Кто ещё там ?!" - спросил он, а за дверью отвечают: "Я Дружба твоя!", "А вот ты заходи " - крикнул аксакал, а вместе с ней зашли и богатство, и любовь, и здоровье! Так выпьем же за ДРУЖБУ!!!

High up in the mountains, a man was dying and contemplating his life, when suddenly there was a knock at the door: "Who are you?" asked the man.
"I'm Wealth," was the answer from behind the door.
"I don't need wealth. I already have everything I need. Go with God."
Again, a knock was heard at the door.
"Who's there?" asked the man.
"I'm Love," was the answer from behind the door.
"Go with God. I've loved and been loved," and again came a knock at the door.
"Who's there?" asked the man.
"Health," was the answer from behind the door.
"I don't need health. I've already lived out mine. Go with God," said the man, but, again, a knock was heard at the door.
"Who else is there?" he asked, and from behind the door came an answer.
"I am Friendship."
"Well, then, you, come on in!" hollered the old man, and together with friendship came wealth, health and love. So we drink to friendship!!!

Europe will be free!

This is for you, Robin.

More Do Do Jin Ming

Behind My Eyes, Second Movement, Plate X, 2003

The Power of the T-shirt

I've been meaning to write to you just how glad I am that I have the Ukraine shirt that I bought in Kiev. I distinctly remember the time and place. I had met Yana at the Peace Corps office and we were on our way to have dinner, walking east (?) on Khreshchatik from ulitsa Bohdana Khmelnitskoho, when I saw a woman selling Ukrainian memorabilia. This shirt, in case you haven't seen me wearing it, or haven't seen a picture, is dark blue with "UKRAINE" printed across the front in yellow letters outlined in a lighter blue closer to that of the Ukrainian flag. Next to that is the Ukrainian trident in the same colors. I bought this T-shirt during my last few days in Ukraine.

What makes my T-shirt so special is not that it reminds me of all of the places and wonderful people I know in Ukraine, though this is one reason why I like wearing it. What I'm amazed by is the responses I've gotten from other people.

One day, I was shopping in Target for some things for the apartment. I believe I was walking up one of the aisles near shower curtains, when a short man with a beard looked directly at me and asked if I was from Ukraine. It turned out that he was an American who had taught in Moscow for five years. Now he lives in the Chicago area and his wife is Russian. I assume he taught business, since he was trying to convince me that getting an MBA would be the best thing for my future, as opposed to a masters in public policy, for example.

Однажды я был в универмаге, шёл за покупками для квартиры. Вдруг мужчина с бородой посмотрел на меня прямо в глаза и спросил меня, родился ли я на Украине. Оказалось, что он американец, преподовал пять лет в университете в Москве. Теперь он живёт в Чикаго и его жена русская. Не уверен, но я думаю, что он проподовал какую-то предмедь связена с бизнесом, так как он пытался убеждить меня, что для моего будущего, мне лучше получить степень по бизнесу, чем по чему-то похожо больше на то, что меня интересует.

A few weeks later, I was in IKEA (a popular, Swedish furniture store), checking out, and a woman walked up to me and asked if I was from Ukraine. Again, I was wearing my T-shirt. I think she was a little disappointed when I said that I wasn't from Ukraine, though I did explain that I'd lived there for two years. I found out that she is from Poltava, just two hours from Krasnograd.

Пустя несколько недел я был в АйКИА (в популарном шведскем мебельном магазине). Я стоял у кассира, когда женщина спросила меня, приехал ли я с Украины. Опять, конечно, я был в любимой майке. Я чувствовал, что она была чуть разочерована, когда я ответил, что не с Украины. Однако я обеснил, что жил там два года. Она сказала мне, что она из Полтавы, только два часа на запад от Краснограда.

After these two meetings, the next morning that I found myself pulling the beloved T-shirt over my head, I remember thinking to myself, "Gosh, I'm so glad I decided to buy this." That day, I was in Columbus, Ohio with some friends, traveling from Ohio back to Chicago after a wedding. We decided to stop at a coffee shop, something reminiscent of Starbucks. A friend and I were ordering coffee, talking to the cashie, when another guy behind the counter walked up and told the cashier to put our coffees on his account. He looked at us and said, "Your coffee's free today because of that," and he pointed at my chest, to the word "UKRAINE." "That's where I'm from," he said. "My home country."

Ну, смотря на эти случайные встечы, следующий раз мне пришлось надеть свою майку, я говорил сам себе вслух -- Боже мой! Я так рад, что решил это купить. И в тот день, я был с друзями в городе Коломбусе, штать Огайо. Мы возврашались в Чикаго со свадбы. На дороге, мы останавились, чтобы купить себе кофе в маленькем кафе. Мы с другом заказывали кофе у прилавка, когда другой работник подошёл к кассиру и сказал, что она должна поставить наше кофе на его рабочный счёт. -- Сегодня Ваше кофе бесплатно благодаря тем. И тут он указал на мою грудь, где было написано слово жёлтами буквами «UKRAINE». -- Я с Украины. -- сказал он. -- Она моя родина.

I've also been asked if I speak Polish when I wear my "POLSKA" shirt, but somehow I think my response to that question is far less interesting.

Здесь иногда меня спрашиваю, говорю ли я по-польски, когда хожу в майке, где написано «POLSKA». Но наверное, в этих положениях, мой ответ как-то не так интересен.

S. B. Friedman & Company

All right. In keeping with my MO, that of "guy who is notoriously bad at writing about his life to other people," I have waited, what I think is, a sufficient amount of time to add anything new, let alone interesting, to my website. At this point, I think most of you have stopped checking this. But I will write on.

The big question on everyone's mind when they hear the name "Brian" is, "Has he found a job yet?" Brian knows this and has decided that he is tired of replying with the same old, embarassing and frustrating answer, "Uh, still looking." The truth of the matter is that I am working and, more importantly, earning rent money. My temp agency finally came through in its own uniquely joyous, yet somewhat disappointing, fashion. As you now know, I am working at S. B. Friedman & Company which is a Property Development Advisor. My reason for being there is that the receptionist has left for three months to have her first child. I say "receptionist," though apparently that is an outdated word. Nowadays, people are saying, "Office support," or something rather. Actually, I've pretty much been helping anyone with anything they feel comfortable throwing at me (filing, making copies, entering data, formatting documents, and, as you might have expected, ocassionally running out to buy lunch for the boss, though in all fairness he has expressed guilt about asking me to do such things).

As I said, working on this assignment has had its good and bad, though much more good. First, the bad. I'm not making as much money per hour as I should be due to a miscommunication between my representative at the agency and Mr. Friedman. Looking over that, there is in fact a great deal of good about this job. 1.) I'm in downtown Chicago. 2.) I'm working in an office, a professional setting. 3.) I'm closer to where my friend, John, works and can have lunch with him from time to time. 4.) There's apparently a gym in the building which I have access to, though in fact have yet to take advantage of. 5.) My co-workers are all good people. 6.) The office manager, Carolyn, and I get along wonderfully. 7.) There's a very nice, well-stocked breakroom , where I can supplement my own breakfast and lunch, thus shaving a bit off of my monthly expenses. 8.) There's a computer at my desk which I am not forbidden to use for my own Internet purposes.

I think that about covers all the good points.

As I'm sure you assume, I am continuing the larger job search. Right now, there are a few possibilities, one of which is an international advisor position at the University of Chicago. I'm feeling pretty good about this one, since my friend Karleigh works there, also in the Office of International Affairs, and she has apparently told the Director that I would be a very good person to have around. As I was taught in the Peace Corps, though, I am doing my best to have no expectations.

In the end, at this point, I'm simply grateful for having a place where I can work 40 hours per week. I can pay my bills, keep a few scraps in the kitchen for meals, and ocassionally entertain the idea that I have a social life.

Happy Fourth of July!! Independence Day!!!

С Праздником Четвёртого Июля!! Дня Независимости!!!

More to come...

Скоро будет больше...

Superman Returns (Супермэн возвращается)

I just want to acknowledge the fact that Superman Returns opened yesterday. It's supposed to pick up where the second Superman movie left off, with Superman having taken a "leave of absence" (i.e. choosing his love for Lois Lane and desire to be with her as a normal man over having the responsibility of super powers and confusion of a double existence.

Я хочу Вам сообщить, что вчера стали паказывать в кинотеатрах кино «Супермэн возвращается». В этом фильме продолжается история Супермэна, более или менее с того, где остановилась во втором фильме в серии (больше 20 лет назад). Во втором фильме, Супермэн решил жить как нормальный человек, с человеческей женщиной, без его необычной возможности, и без трудности житии с двумя именни, Супермэн и Кларк Кэнт.

This weekend, with my friend John, we'll have a mini movie marathon and watch the first two movies with Christopher Reeves as Superman. Then in the later afternoon we'll go see the new movie at the IMAX.

На эти выходные, я пойду к друзям, где будет маленкий фильмовый маратон, посмотрим первый и второй фильм Супермэна, а потом пойдём в кинотеатр посмотреть новый фильм на большем экране.

I know Hollywood has its tendencies and formulas which often disappoint, but I'll admit, put a superhero on screen and I'll watch it. :-)

Я хорошо понимаю, что в Голливуде есть формулы и тенденция снимать дрянь (такие фильмы, которие считают, что будут получать большие денги). Хотя и всё это правдо, признаваю, что если появится на экране кинотеатра "суперскего героя", то я туда побегу.

Christopher Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman, 1978.

Кристофер Ривз в роле Кларка Кэнта/Супермэна в 1978 году.

Brandon Routh as Superman, 2006.

Брэндон Роут в роле Супермэна в 2006 году.